Saxophonist
Jim Snidero
turns his adept post-bop skills inward on the introspective, if still engaging 2019 session
Waves of Calm
. The album, which comes on the heels of several exuberant projects including 2016's
Miles Davis
-influenced
MD66
, and 2018's
Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley
, is in part a response to his father's battle with Parkinson's Disease -- a struggle that ended with his passing shortly after the album was finished. While by no means a ballads album, though there are several here including a gorgeously moving rendition of "Old Folks,"
is a work of far-eyed rumination that leaves plenty of room for searching, harmonically creative improvisation. Joining
Snidero
once again is his
Jubilation!
bandmate trumpeter
Jeremy Pelt
, as well as pianist
Orrin Evans
, bassist
Nat Reeves
, and drummer
Jonathan Barber
. Together they play with a warmth and style that is the epitome of post-bop sophistication. In some ways, the album is a balanced mix of the influences
has been investigating since the early 2010s. Both "Visions," which features
Evans
on Fender Rhodes, and the angular "Truth" evoke
' late-'60s modalism. Similarly, "Dad Song" is dusky Latin groover that brings to mind the classic hard bop recordings of
Horace Silver
. Equally evocative is the languid title track, which pulls the listener along as if floating on a boat in a soft evening breeze. As the title implies,
is the sound of
taking a deep, tension-relieving breath before jumping back into the flow of life. ~ Matt Collar